Sport Northland has been working closely with the Northland Regional Council (NRC) on the Regional Sporting Facilities Rate that has been introduced through the council’s 2018-28 Long Term Plan.

Now after approval from NRC Councillors last week, five sporting facility initiatives are poised to receive close to $3.8 million from the rate over the next three years. The rate of $15 per household is for the development of sporting facilities of regional and district benefit throughout Northland.

There are two initiatives in each of the Far North, Kaipara and Whangārei districts. First up to be funded is Sportsville Dargaville, allocated up to $600,000 from October this year, followed by Sportsville Kaikohe, earmarked to receive an initial $100,000 from this November.

Both projects are creating sports hubs, with Sportsville Dargaville’s official opening for stage one of their project occurring on 29 September at Memorial Park in Dargaville. This grant will fund stage two, namely sports court floodlights and the fit out for the new facility. Sportsville Kaikohe will use their initial funding for stage one of their project (floodlighting for the existing rugby fields).

The Mangawhai Activity Zone is scheduled to receive up to $500,000 from May 2019 to fund the completion of an Olympic standard skateboard training facility to attract training opportunities prior to the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games.

The Te Hiku Sports Hub initiative in Kaitaia, which includes an aquatic centre with heated pool and upgrades to netball and field sports facilities, is to receive the largest allocation from the fund over the first three years - a whopping $1.4 million from May 2020.

Last off the rank is the Pohe Island Sports Hub in Whangarei, due to receive $1.18 million in 2021 for comprehensive plans that includes both bike park and rugby facilities.

The grants have been made in line with funding criteria developed by the council, and the evolving 2014 Northland Sports Facilities Plan - a partnership involving Sport Northland, NRC, the three district councils and Sport New Zealand.

NRC has resolved to allocate the 2018-2021 funding now to give certainty to the organisations overseeing the projects and provide them with a platform to apply for funding from other agencies. The allocations are subject to the NRC Chief Executive’s final sign-off.

A sixth project, the Northland Football Hub in Tikipunga is earmarked for consideration for a 2021-2024 round of grants alongside further funding for Sportsville Kaikohe and Pohe Island Sports Hub.

Councillor Paul Dimery says submissions received during the LTP process were “substantially supportive” of new sports facilities. “We’re so pleased to be able to contribute to these initiatives, which will benefit the mental health and physical wellbeing of Northlanders and strengthen our communities,” he says.

“The benefits of these projects will be felt for many years to come and everyone stands to gain – from pre-schoolers through to the elderly as well as those who are disabled, unwell or disadvantaged in some other way.

The geographic spread of these facilities also makes attendance and participation far more accessible to Northlanders. We know that people are currently travelling huge distances to get to the facilities they need.”

Sport Northland Chief Executive Brent Eastwood says the approval of the rate is a massive boost for the development of quality sports facilities across the region.

“In the past, it has been very hard work for key Northland facility projects to leverage often only small amounts of district council seed funding through external funding applications. This new rate is a game-changer for these projects because sports organisations can now apply to the likes of Foundation North and NZ Lotteries in the knowledge that they have secured sufficient Northland funding to be confident of success”.

Eastwood goes on to say that Sport Northland has a dedicated strategic goal around ensuring that the right facilities are developed in the right locations across the region.

“We are here to support the great work that is being undertaken by the various organisations in developing key facilities across the three district council areas. The regional council is funding the projects in a strategic way and with this prioritisation for the next three years now approved, each district has some exciting facilities set to be completed in the coming years” he says.

Article added: Tuesday 18 September 2018